IBM's Lotus unit will introduce a set of social networking services that functions like a MySpace for office workers and which analysts say marks a renewed challenge to Microsoft. A service called Connections features Web 2.0 functions, while giving businesses controls over who sees what data.

IBM is building social networking tools into its collaboration software in an effort to bring the concepts of Web 2.0 and online communities inside corporations. In the coming weeks, IBM's Lotus division will announce updates designed to encourage ad-hoc communications among a customer's staff.

Users of IBM's Lotus Sametime instant-messaging service will be able to connect to people on the rival AOL and Yahoo networks under a deal that underscores the technology's transformation from a program for chatty teenagers into a common business tool.